Judgment time in ballot case

4 to be sentenced Monday

SOUTH BEND -- Once a prominent force in local politics, with his stout figure and bespectacled face a given at events like Dyngus Day, former chairman of the county's Democratic Party Owen "Butch" Morgan will be sentenced Monday for his role in a ballot fraud case that ended his more than 16-year career in scandal.

It is the end of a tale of the rise and fall of a man powerful in the local political scene, the role of a newspaper and the three government workers who did what he asked.

An investigative report by the South Bend Tribune and Howey Politics revealed in 2011 that hundreds of signatures were forged onto petitions that qualified Democratic presidential candidates for the 2008 Indiana primary.

Soon after, Morgan resigned his post and the St. Joseph County prosecutor's office filed felony charges against him and three former employees in the county's Voter Registration Office: Dustin Blythe, Bev Shelton and Pam Brunette.

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The unraveling of Morgan's reign was replete with a whistleblower who became the Tribune's first source and played a role in the criminal investigation, co-defendants who became witnesses for the state and proclamations of innocence throughout a public trial.

Found guilty at trial of four counts of conspiracy to commit forgery (four Class C felonies), Morgan faces from two to eight years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine on each charge.

Blythe, who also took his chance at trial, is facing punishment for 10 felony convictions: nine counts of forgery, a Class C felony and one count of falsifying a petition, a Class D felony.

If the judge orders the sentences for each charge be served consecutively, the total sentence can't exceed 10 years, the advisory sentence for a Class B felony.

The advisory sentence for a Class C felony is four years.

The judge could also order that all or a portion of the sentence be served on probation.

Brunette and Shelton entered guilty pleas and testified for the state during the trial for Morgan and Blythe, telling a jury that Morgan asked them to forge the signatures at a meeting at the Democratic headquarters early in 2008.

Morgan took the stand during trial and denied involvement in the forgery scheme.

Shelton pleaded guilty to one count of forgery and one count of falsifying a petition. As part of her deal, the state, represented by an outside prosecutor, agreed to recommend she serve no jail time in exchange for her testimony,

Brunette, the former head of the county's Voter Registration Office, pleaded guilty to one count of forgery, one count of official misconduct, a Class D felony, and one count of falsifying a petition.

She entered an open plea, meaning she did not enter an agreement with the state.

All four defendants are expected to appear before St. Joseph Superior Court Judge John Marnocha at 1:30 p.m. Monday.